West Ham accept £40m Brentford bid for Diouf
El Hadji Malick Diouf is cleared to have a medical with Brentford after West Ham accept a £40m bid for the Senegal defender.
West Ham has accepted a £40 million bid from Brentford for defender El Hadji Malick Diouf. The 21-year-old Senegal left-back will join Brentford on a five-year contract with an option to extend it by another year. The deal includes an initial £35 million payment, with additional £5 million in add-ons. Diouf made his West Ham debut in their Championship opener against Burnley, but was later left out of the matchday squads following two games as negotiations took place.
He was the top defensive target for Brentford this summer, but talks had stalled until they were revived earlier this week. Diouf is returning to the Premier League after falling back to the Championship last season. The move represents a significant profit for West Ham, as they had paid Slavia Prague £19 million for Diouf a year ago.
Diouf played 34 times for West Ham last season, contributing five assists. Brentford head coach Keith Andrews stated that Diouf fits their ideal age profile and has room to develop further. He said, "Why not win the league?" when asked about his ambition at his new club. Diouf, who played four times at the World Cup this summer, is Brentford's fifth signing of the summer after Callum Wilson, Mamadou Sangare, Jannik Schuster, and Jaidon Anthony.
West Ham finished 18th last season, while Brentford had a strong campaign under Andrews, finishing ninth and narrowly missing out on European football on goal difference. Brentford kicked off their season with a 3-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur and will face Leeds in their next league match.
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